Apr 18, 2014

“It all started when there were pagan gods and the rite-of-spring,” Halyna Mudryj explained in her introduction of pysanky -decorated Ukrainian eggs- to her classes this spring at the Creative Alliance. Although now associated with Easter, 2000 years ago, pysanky were decorated as offerings to pagan gods, especially the sun god, Dazhboh, considered the giver of life. Used as talismans for bringing good fortune and keeping evil at bay, eggs were also symbols of life and rebirth, says Mudryj (pronounced “muud-ree”). As the Ukraine region became Christianized in 988 A.D., pagan pictures of nature such as animals, water and the sun took on new meaning and made room for crosses and other Christian symbols on the eggs. For example waves, which formerly represented the god of water, now represented “Christ walking on water,” she says.

: Halyna Mudryj decorated these pysanky eggs. Pysanky comes from the Ukrainian word, “pysaty,” which means “to write.” Pysanky are intricately decorated Ukrainian eggs with symbols. The custom dates back over 2,000 years. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: “My grandfather made the stylus (in center) by unwinding the metal tips that held shoelaces together, & somehow attached it to a little stick or branch with wire.” Wax was poured into the stylus and used to write with wax. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj puts wax into the head of the stylus which will be melted over a flame for writing on an egg. Pysanky comes from the Ukrainian word, “pysaty” which means”to write.” (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj heats wax over an alcohol flame in preparation for making designs on an egg. She holds classes makes in pysanky egg decoration at the Creative Alliance. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj makes designs on an egg. She’s “writing” on the egg with wax. As soon as the wax touches the egg, the egg under the wax cannot be dyed further in another color, but will retain the color under the wax. Therefore, the checkerboard design will remain orange when she dips the egg in a new color. She starts by washing the eggs in vinegar which helps the colors to adhere better. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj dips the egg in a red dye. She works from lighter to darker colors. Using darker colors first would not allow brighter colors to show. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Once the egg is dyed the last color, Halyna Mudryj holds it to the flame to melt the wax that has coated the egg just by handling it. She cautions that one needs to be very careful during this step -not only not to burn fingers -but not to heat the top of the egg because there’s a space at the point, which, if heated too quickly, will cause the egg to explode. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Sandy and Gary Quinlivan,right, from Pittsburgh, PA, took the pysanky egg decorating class while visiting their daughter in Baltimore. Each time the raw egg is dipped into a new color, the students then draw on the egg with wax. The color under the wax will not change when the egg is dipped in a new color. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A volunteer dips a student’s egg into the red dye. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj made this egg “in honor of all the people that died in this recent ongoing revolution in Ukraine. They refer to them as the ‘heavenly battalion.’ The stars on the egg represent the 100 or so people that were killed. The churches on the egg represent definite churches that exist in Ukraine from north to south, east to west.” She included mosques, churches and temples. The building with the two narrowest spires is the Muslim Mosque. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj holds a stylus in her hand as she tells students about the history of psyanky egg decoration. Halnyn Mudryj holds pysanky classes at the Creative Alliance. Pysanky are intricately decorated Ukrainian eggs with symbols. The custom dates back over 2,000 years ago and originally were made for the pagan gods during the rites of spring. As Christianity developed, the eggs began taking on Christian symbols. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Styluses and beeswax darkened with soot are some of the tools used in pysanky egg decoration. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Maura Taylor copied the designs on the paper when she decorated her egg. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: In the foreground are colors Halyna Mudryj uses to teach the art of pysanky (Ukrainian eggs intricately decorated with symbols and designs.) Many other colors can also be used. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: These are a sampling of eggs decorated by Halyna Mudryj who holds Pysanky classes periodically at the Creative Alliance and elsewhere. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj dips a fresh egg into yellow coloring. When she writes on the yellow with wax, everything under the wax will retain the yellow color when the egg is dipped in another color. The wax seals in the color. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Students gather around Halyna Mudryj as she demonstrates making a pysanka -an intricately decorated Ukrainian egg with symbols- at the Creative Alliance. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Maura Taylor, left, from Baltimore, heats her egg to remove the wax as her daughter, Maura Taylor, 11, watches. Taylor says, “As you’re melting the wax off and the colors start to appear, it’s like a big reveal -like opening a present.” (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Students are captivated as Halyna Mudryj (hands at left) demonstrates pysanky egg decoration at the Creative Alliance. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: These are styluses used to write with wax onto an egg. There is a hole in the tip from which melted wax flows. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Children and adults learn to create pysanky – intricately decorated Ukrainian eggs with symbols- at the Creative Alliance. They touch the egg decorated by Halnyn Mudryi. They are feeling the difference between the wax-covered surface and the smooth part where the wax has been melted off. Pictured are Keegan Teylor, 11, center, and her mother, Maura Taylor, right, from Baltimore. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj decorated the egg for a class demonstration. Halnyn Mudryi holds pysanky classes at the Creative Alliance. Pysanky are intricately decorated Ukrainian eggs with symbols. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Halyna Mudryj is pictured in her home with some of her collection of pysanky – intricately decorated Ukrainian eggs with symbols – which she decorated. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

The word “pysanky” comes from the Ukrainian verb “pysaty” which means “to write.” Beeswax mixed with soot and melted in a stylus is used to “write” or make designs and symbols on the egg. Alternating between drawing with wax, the egg is dipped in a series of colors beginning with the lightest to darkest. Whatever color is under the wax, remains that color. Once the last dark color is used, the wax is then melted over a flame and wiped away to reveal the colorful design underneath.

Born in England and raised in Baltimore, Halyna (pronounced “Hah-lynn-ah”) Mudryj describes herself as a “world citizen.” But the Ukrainian culture and customs have taken root within her. Having learned the art from her mother, she has been decorating eggs “longer than I’ve been reading or writing…” and estimates she’s decorated “way over a thousand eggs.” She has a stylus her grandfather made by using the “metal tips that held shoelaces together.”

Mudryj, who graduated from The Maryland Institute College of Art in 1979, has decorated ovals of all sizes, from finch to ostrich eggs, which can take close to 80 hours to complete. When finished, she uses polyurethane, which gives the egg its sheen. While making a pysanka for someone, Mudryj thinks of the person and wishes them whatever they may need. “Consider what you’re really doing with the egg is a prayer,” she says.

Halyna Mudryj will be at the Creative Alliance for the Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival in June.

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Pysanky: the art of making Ukrainian Easter eggs

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